I know Ani Lorak is wildly popular but ... am I the only one who would like to see more "Ukrainian content" in music from Ukraine?? I don't mean just Ukrainian language in the lyrics (altho that would be preferable), but some real Ukrainian soul in the music itself.
So much contemporary Ukrainian music is virtually indistinguishable from what's produced in any other country. And when they sing in English, as Ani Lorak does in this Eurovision entry, it's totally indistinguishable. IMO Verka Serduchka's entry last year (despite being a tad, um, controversial), was far more interesting and colourful than this year's soulless, generic entry.
Mandry, Mariya Burmaka, Ruslana, etc. had a great sound for a while there ... which raised my hopes that a distinctive Ukrainian musical genre would emerge, or even an East European "sound" in which Ukrainian music would be as identifiable a component as, say, Cuban is in the Latin American genre.
Forgive me for imagining how wonderful it would be to see (in this lifetime!) a new generation emerge with the musical and marketing chutzpah of the likes of this classic Ukrainian artist from the 20th century:
Oh well, maybe someday.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how Ukraine makes out this year in the Eurovision contest.